MORGANTOWN – After more than 300 days of debate, the votes are in.
The camping ban stays.
By a 78-vote margin, Morgantown’s voters supported implementation of the camping ban ordinance initially passed by Morgantown City Council in September and forced onto Tuesday’s city ballot by a successful citizen repeal petition.
While the margin was tight all evening, the pro-ban vote led throughout and ended up with 982 votes in support of the law to 904 in favor of its repeal.
In the election’s only contested council race, Morgantown native Mark Downs bested Stephanie Hunt by a count of 1,046 to 751 to claim council’s 6th Ward seat for the next four years.
“Obviously, we’re very pleased with the results. We had a clear victory tonight. We worked hard. Stephanie worked hard and I’m proud of her. I’m proud of us. I’m honestly glad it’s over,” Downs said, laughing. “Neither of us had done this before. It’s a lot to bite off. It’s a lot to put yourself out there and step forward for your community. I think that’s why we see so few people willing to do it. It’s not an easy thing to go through and I’m sure it’s not going to be an easy thing to serve, but I’m committed to making Morgantown a better place. At the end of the day, that’s why I did this. I’m looking forward to working with my six friends that I’m going to serve alongside. We’re going to get some things done.”
Hunt told The Dominion Post she was disappointed with the final result, but proud of the effort and appreciative of everyone who supported her candidacy.
“Though I won’t be serving on council this time, I remain committed to working alongside my neighbors to make Morgantown the best it can be,” Hunt said. “Thank you to everyone who supported me. This is just the beginning.”
Jodi Hollingshead’s uncontested race for council’s 2nd Ward seat drew 1,323 votes while longtime incumbent Jenny Selin picked up 1,226 votes as the lone candidate in the 4th Ward.
As for the other ballot measure before voters – a charter change to allow city council to waive the residency requirement for city managers – voters emphatically rejected the move with 1,410 voting against the change and only 426 coming out in support.
All vote totals and results are unofficial until certified through canvassing on Monday.
Barring any unforeseen issues, the camping ban ordinance will take effect 30 days later, on June 4.
The ban has dominated public discourse in Morgantown since councilor Louise Michael mentioned the need for such a restriction during a meeting in early July.
Michael paced in and around city hall Tuesday evening as results came in.
“I think in the long run, what happened tonight is the voters and the residents got to make the final decision, and that’s what we wanted,” Michael said. “That’s democracy working for us.”
The election’s unofficial vote count was exactly 1,900, or slightly over 14% of the city’s 13,480 registered voters – the best turnout in a municipal election since 15% voted in 2017.
